The CIA has sent drones on secret missions over Mexico to spy on drug cartels — and may use them for armed strikes, according to former and current officials. The covert missions, carried out with MQ-9 Reaper drones,

The CIA under President Donald Trump has been covertly flying MQ-9 Reaper drones over Mexico to spy on drug cartels, current and former officials familiar with the matter told CNN, part of Trump’s dramatic reorientation of national security assets to the US southern border.

The CIA has launched drones on secret missions to spy on drug cartels in Mexico and may use them for armed operations. The covert operations, underway with MQ-9 Reaper drones, are assessing the drug gangs and their labs across the southern US border in preparation for a potential aerial strike to destroy them, CNN reported.